In Belarus, journalist arrested, charged with libel

June 21, 2012 3:35 PM ET

New
York, June 21, 2012--Authorities in Belarus must drop the charges against a prominent
journalist arrested today for libel against the president, and immediately release
him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Andrzej Poczobut has been
targeted in the past for his critical writing, CPJ research shows.

Police
raided the Grodno apartment of Poczobut, a correspondent for the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, confiscated at least
one computer, and detained him for questioning, the independent news website Charter 97reported. Poczobut is
the target of a criminal case over articles he wrote for Charter 97 and Belarussky
Partizan, another independent news website, in which he criticized
authoritarian Belarusian leader Aleksandr Lukashenko and his domestic and
international policies, according to news reports. Details of the
case are not available.

When
Poczobut refused to answer questions about the case, police arrested him, news
reports said. It is unclear when authorities opened the case.He is being held at a Grodno prison,
according to Charter 97. He faces up
to five years in prison if convicted, according to the Russian service of the U.S.
government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

"Belarus
must release Andrzej Poczobut without any further delay," said CPJ Deputy
Director Robert Mahoney. "Authorities should stop using criminal libel as a
tool to silence journalists who criticize them."

CPJ
research shows that Belarusian authorities have long targeted Poczobut for his
critical publications. In 2011 alone, Poczobut faced detention, imprisonment, raids on his
apartment, confiscation of his
equipment, politicized
prosecution,
and a suspended prison term sentence on charges of libel against the
president, all in connection to his critical journalism, according to CPJ
research.

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